Round Mountain Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Hadley, Nevada 89045
Tuesady, May 12, 2009 13:05 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that prior to departure in his tailwheel-equipped airplane, the windsock was indicating strong winds perpendicular to the runway with variable gusts. He stated that he waited until he saw a favorable (headwind) gust and then applied takeoff power. During the takeoff roll, the airplane encountered a strong gust of wind from the right, which lifted the right wing and the left wing struck the runway. The airplane pivoted to the left, veered off the runway surface, and impacted a dirt berm. The airplane sustained structural damage to the wings. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airframe or engine. The nearest weather reporting station is located 38 nautical miles south of the accident airport, and was reporting winds at the time of the accident at 3.3 miles per hour (mph) gusting to 14.3 mph.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's inadequate compensation for the gusting crosswinds during takeoff.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/12/2009
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1305
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Hadley
Event State NEVADA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 89045
Event Date Year 2009
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 384139N
Event Location Longitude 1170849W
Event Location Airport Round Mountain
Event Location Nearest Airport ID A36
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 5744
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1300 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 180
Weather Observation Facility ID TPH
Elevation of weather observation facility 5426
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 38
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 27
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -3
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) 3
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 14
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 25591
NTSB Notification Source FAA Operations Center
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Jul 20 2009 12:21PM
User who most recently changed record johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N232PF
NTSB Number WPR09CA240
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Fagan
Aircraft Model BearHawk
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number BH232-7
Certified Max Gross Weight 2500
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Conditional
Date of Last Inspection Jul 1 2008 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 75
Airframe Hours 760
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name Patrick J. Fagan
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Pearblossom
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 93553
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Patrick J. Fagan
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Pearblossom
Operator State CA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 93553
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code A36
Departure City Hadley
Departure State NV
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1305
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code A36
Destination City Hadley
Destination State NV
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jun 17 2009 3:54PM
User who most recently changed record coos
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 17
Runway Length 6776
Runway Width 60
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --